Oct. 13th LME market: zinc futures soar 5% to more than three-and-a-half-year high

October 13 news, the London Metal Exchange (LME) zinc and aluminum prices rose to a multi-year high on Wednesday, due to the power crisis caused smelters to reduce production.

Zinc prices in Shanghai hit a 14-year high, while those in London jumped more than 5 per cent to a more than three-and-a-half-year high after Nyrstar said its three European zinc smelters would cut production by 50 per cent because of soaring electricity costs.

17:00 London time (00:00 Beijing time)), LME zinc for three-month delivery closed up 4.24 per cent at $3401.50 a tonne, while at one point rose 5.4 per cent to $3440 a tonne, the highest level since March 2018.

Electricity prices have reached record highs in recent weeks, driven by power shortages in Asia and Europe. China's power supply crisis is expected to last until the end of the year and curb growth in the world's second-largest economy.

But one analyst warned that surging electricity prices could also hit industrial output and weaken demand for metals.

"We should not forget that it is not only the basic metals producers that have been hit by the power crisis, but also the metal manufacturers down the value chain," said Daniel Briesemann of (Commerzbank), the German commercial bank.

A weaker dollar also supported metal prices, with the dollar index falling 0.4%.

LME aluminium prices were flat at $3068 a tonne after hitting $3118.50, the highest since July 2008.

Copper for delivery in three months closed up 1.97% at $9651 a tonne.